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Antisemitism and Xenophobia in the Ideology of Russian Extremist Parties, Movements and Groups
Dr. Leonid Stonov
Russia is a country in deep crisis. The economy continues to implode, unemployment is rising, billions of dollars are being deposited in foreign banks, poverty, drug addiction and child prostitution are growing. At the same time, xenophobia and religious intolerance have noticeably increased. Religious liberties are repressed, and the Russian Orthodox Church has de facto become a state religion. Anti-Western propaganda has intensified. The search for enemies and scapegoats has become an everyday occurrence.
This essay is a brief description of antisemitism in the ideology of today's Russian extremist movements. Russian nationalist extremism is characterized by an ideology that promotes the superiority of Russians over other ethnic groups, "a third way" in the economy (neither capitalism nor socialism), the reinstatement of Russia within its "historical borders," blatantly anti-Western political platforms and a desire for a revolutionary, and often violent, restructuring of society. Nationalist extremism spans a wide spectrum of ideologies, from Communist to Fascist and from Pagan to Russian Orthodox, often combining several distinct ideologies into an incoherent mix. But what all of the diverse movements described in this essay have in common is antisemitism.
While many of these movements are small in size, it can be argued that the largely indifferent reaction of the Russian government to the antisemitic slogans of General Albert Makashov, Viktor Ilyukhin, Nikolai Kondratenko, Aleksandr Barkashov and other extremists directly led to a series of terrorist acts against Jewish targets in 1999 which may be only the beginning of larger scale attack against Jews. That is why it is so important now to know which groups comprise Russian nationalist extremism.
The number of extremist and chauvinistic organizations with either declared or latent antisemitism as a common ideological denominator is growing slowly but steadily. This essay briefly describes the most important organizations in this movement, with the exception of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), Russian National Unity (RNU) and the Russian Orthodox Church, which are analyzed in separate essays. Not all parties and movements described in this essay openly profess antisemitism, therefore, in a number of cases indirect evidence is used to expose the antisemitic elements of the movement's ideology.
The Movement to Support the Army (DPA) is headed by KPRF deputies Viktor Ilyukhin, head of the State Duma's Security Committee, who in December 1998 accused Jews in the government of committing "genocide" against the Russian people, and General Albert Makashov, who has publicly called for the murder of Jews. The DPA was founded in September 1997 by the late General Lev Rokhlin. Under his leadership, the movement was a pro-Communist organization that in general avoided inciting xenophobia. After General Rokhlin was assassinated and power shifted to Ilyukhin and General Makashov, the DPA's ideology became extremely antisemitic. The DPA is running separately from the relatively more moderate KPRF, though they retain close mutual ties.
In the beginning of 1998, the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) of Edward Limonov, along with the Union of Officers of Stanislav Terekhov and Viktor Anpilov's "Working Russia," founded "The Front of Working People, Army and Youth for the USSR." The party attempted to be registered in order to take part in the parliamentary elections in 1999, but the Ministry of Justice denied it registration. For a long time the NBP had been pushing for a referendum prohibiting the election of a non-Russian to the post of President, forbidding Russian women from having abortions, driving foreign traders and goods out of Russian territory, and banning imports. In an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta on May, 18, 1999 Edward Limonov stated that the next fifty years of Russian history will be years of nationalism. (See the Omsk, Astrakhan and Novosibirsk chapters for information on these groups' antisemitic activity).
The organization "Fatherland,"1 led by Krasnodar Kray's governor Nikolai Kondratenko, unites the leftists and nationalists of Krasnodar Kray. "Fatherland" is managed by the local Cossack chieftan Gromov. During the most recent elections to the Krasnodar Kray Legislative Assembly, "Fatherland" won over 70% of votes. Governor Kondratenko's ideology is a mixture of antisemitism and radical leftist populism. In the Governor's opinion, there is a world "Zionist" conspiracy directed against Russia and the world. He classifies all activists of democratic parties, journalists and anti-communists as "Zionists." (For more on Governor Kondratenko see the Krasnodar chapter).
After the shelling of the parliament in October 1993, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) of Vladimir Zhirinovsky evolved into a pro-governmental party. Ideologically, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia defines itself as a "right-wing and centrist public and political organization with a no-compromise patriotic position" which supports an "authoritarian regime and the isolation or semi-isolation of the country."2 Zhirinovsky takes every opportunity to use the current political situation to benefit nationalists and has made several infamous statements, such as calling for Russia to blow radioactive dust onto the Baltic states, take back Alaska and conquer India. On February 20, 1997 during a State Duma debate on the law "On Restrictions of Circulation of Sexual Services, Entertainment and Production in the Russian Federation," Zhirinovsky made a speech insulting peoples of the Northern Caucasus and Central Asia.3 In August 1999, he told an audience in Primorsky Kray that China was planning to bomb them in 2008 and that the only way to defend themselves would be to not let Chinese into the kray. (See the Primorsky chapter). Although he has recently refrained from openly antisemitic statements, many in his party have not. (See the Novosibirsk and Pskov chapters for examples.)
Formerly associated with General Aleksandr Lebed, the Congress of Russian Communities (KRO) has, since Lebed's departure, steadily become more oriented towards extreme nationalism. In November 1999, during an election debate on national television, KRO candidate Andrey Savelev used thinly veiled antisemitic language to describe those whom he blames for Russia's problems as people who, "speak Russian but don't think Russian and don't act Russian," "are not of Russian blood" and "are alien to the country."4 The All-Russian Cossack organization "The Cossack Union" has ties to both the Russian government and to extremist opposition groups. Yuri Galushko, a well know former "fighter against Zionism," is a member of the governing body of the Cossack Union. Between 1993 _ 1994, Cossacks from the Union fought on the side of the Serbs in Yugoslavia. There are many reports in the media about connections between the Cossack Union and criminal organizations. M. Fillin, who was arrested on suspicion of murdering the famous journalist V. Lystiev and later released, is a close ally of General Albert Makashov, a Communist MP who has publicly called for the murder of Jews.
The strongly antisemitic movement "Towards God's Kingdom,"5 which was founded in December 1997, set up its own Cossack division called "The Big Circle" and held its congress in Moscow in April 1998. Cossacks in Khabarovsk are linked to the RNU, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky is an honorary colonel in the Ussuyrisk Cossack Host, which is based in Primorsky Kray. (See the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Kray chapters for more details.) Cossacks attack ethnic minorities in Southern Russia and some other regions, and representatives of a Rostov Cossack faction, the Invincible Don Host, are solid supporters of General Albert Makashov. (See the Krasnodar, Volgograd, Rostov and Irkutsk chapters.)
Two groups of radical ethnic nationalists (Nikolai Lysenko's and Yuri Belyaev's organizations) call themselves the National Republican Party of Russia. Lysenko was a member of the now defunct Saint Petersburg People's Socialist Party, which was directed by Belyaev. Ideologically, Lysenko is a follower of Mussolini and restates old antisemitic myths borrowed from the notorious antisemite V. Shulgin, a deputy of the pre-Revolutionary Duma.6 After Lysenko spent more than a year in prison for setting off a bomb in his own office in the State Duma (he was later acquitted), his party fell into decay and was unable to pass re-registration in the Ministry of Justice. Yuri Belyaev is a racist and an admirer of Hitler. He equally hates Jews and people from the Caucasus.7
In early 1997, the National Property Protection League was established by the editor of Natsionalnaya Gazeta ("The National Newspaper"), V. Davydov. It claims to be an intellectual nationalistic organization and on behalf of "true nationalists," the League advocates the "protection the Russian people from Jewish influences."8 To implement its ideas, the League proposes either the emigration or the assimilation of all Jews.
Like the Nazis in Germany, a considerable part of the most radical "patriotic" movements are influenced by neo-paganism, while others profess Russian Orthodox fundamentalism. It is hard to find among radical nationalist organizations anybody who professes atheism. Russian paganism is ethnically based and draws its ideas from nationalistic writers and historians of dubious academic legitimacy. Neo-paganism was combined with fascist ideology by V. Emelyanov of Pamyat, who passed on the baton to V. Korchagin, V. Bezverkhy and others.
The Union of Veneds is a religious and political organization with neo-pagan and pro-fascist orientation. Its central headquarters is in Saint Petersburg. Its leader V. Bezverkhy, a well-known antisemite, was twice brought to trial for inciting ethnic hatred and was twice acquitted. The Veneds oppose Christianity but at the same time consider Russian Orthodoxy to be the top point in development of Slavonic-Aryan "Vedism." They refute Marxism and Leninism, considering it to be Jewish teaching, but they respect the KPRF. The Veneds claim that "human races are in fact different biological species, therefore, reproduction of hybrids must be decidedly and forcibly suppressed; hybrids have elaborated ideological systems of concealment of knowledge from people and an ideology of economic slavery, an example of which is Judaism."9
The Navi Church, headed by Ilya Lazarenko, is a Moscow based neo-Nazi pagan group which calls itself "The Sacred Church of the White Race." It is the Russian version of the Ku Klux Klan, practices occult rites, and is closely tied with skinhead groups. In May 1999, Ilya Lazarenko wrote an article in the newspaper Ya Russky in which he demanded that Article 282 of the Criminal Code (which prohibits the incitement of ethnic hatred) be abolished because it "declares the norms of struggle against the Russian nation." In November 1997, Ilya Lazarenko got a two year suspended sentence for inciting ethnic hatred in his antisemitic and racist speeches at Moscow State University.
The National Patriotic Front Pamyat ("Memory"), headed by Dmitri Vasiliev, is one of the oldest chauvinistic national patriotic organizations in Russia. Pamyat's ideology equates Christianity with "Zionism" and calls for a struggle for the reinstatement of paganism. While numerous splits within its ranks have over the years greatly reduced its influence, in recent years Pamyat has become active again, and recently demanded that the government render large-scale assistance to the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. Pamyat continues to state its antisemitic, anti-American and anti-Israel views.
The Black Hundreds movement separated from Pamyat in 1993. It is a radical nationalistic and patriotic organization based on Russian Orthodox fundamentalism mixed with pro-monarchy tendencies. It focuses on what its members call ritual murders by Jews.
Pro-Russian ideology is the spiritual basis of the People's National Party directed by A. Ivanov-Sukharevsky. In 1998, A. Shiropaev wrote in the issue #6 of the party's newspaper Ya Russky: "Adolph Hitler carried the cross to a Russia enslaved by Yids." This party calls for Russian Orthodoxy to be the country's state religion and for people who are not Russian by birth or Orthodox by religion to be stripped of Russian citizenship.
The ideology of the Russian's People Union, headed by Sergei Baburin, is not extremist, though it has many allies who are. In 1995, Governor Nikolai Kondratenko's "Fatherland" joined Baburin's People Union as a joint member. The Union will participate in the December 1999 parliamentary elections, though it is not clear how well it will do.
The inter-regional Russian People's Union was founded in May 1997. It publishes the infamous antisemitic newspaper Kolokol ("The Bell") and is linked with extremists like A. Sterligov, P. Romanov, B. Mironov and others. A certain N. Kozlov wrote in issue #94 of Kolokol in 1998: "The history of mankind knows only two ways of struggling with Jewish invasion: massacre and deportation." The chief-editor of Kolokol, S. Terentev, and the chairman of the Union's Moscow branch, a former KGB officer named I. Kuznetsov, are co-chairmen of the Union.
Russian "skinheads" are a relatively new phenomenon within the "patriotic front." They frequently attack dark-skinned people in Moscow and other cities. In May 1997, an African-American U.S. Marine in Moscow was badly wounded by a group of skinheads. The leader of the group, S. Tokmakov, was arrested. Amazingly enough, both the Moscow police and Tokmakov's lawyers from the law firm "Canon" (which is linked to Communist MP Viktor Ilyukhin), denied racism as a motive for the crime even though Tokmakov was recorded by television reporters before his arrest saying that "all Negroes are harmful and must undergo a special program of euthanasia." The case was downgraded from a hate crime (under Article 282) to simple hooliganism. In April 1999, S. Tokmakov and A. Ivanov-Sukharevsky, the leader of People's National Party, ended up in the same jail cell in Lefortovo prison in Moscow and issued a joint statement in which they declared the principle: "Europe for the whites, Russia for the Russians."10 The Moscow Times reported on September, 28, 1999 that S. Tokmakov was released under amnesty after 17 months in jail. There are more than 20 skinhead groups in Moscow.
Due to splits within the Russian Party under Victor Korchagnin's leadership, a new radical national patriotic party named the Russian National Union was founded by V. Miloserdov, who is an assistant of State Duma deputy General Albert Makashov. The Russian National Union of V. Miloserdov unites all traditional Russian nationalists who are sympathetic to Russian Orthodox fundamentalism. The program documents of a number of its regional branches, (Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and others) show an ideology based on antisemitism and ethnic xenophobia. Lately, the organization has become more radical, particularly its Moscow branch. ********************************* Endnotes
1 Not to be confused with Yuri Luzhkov's movement of the same name.
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